We all have our “thing”. And by “thing” I mean those things we like to collect or just enjoy. We’ve all met the little old lady who has dozens of tea cups with kittens on them. For some people its cows. Or roosters. Or elephants. If your ‘thing’ is butterflies, then you might just like these votive candle holders and cocktail napkins. The candle holders are tall glass cylinders, in deep purple and olive green, with bronze-colored metal butterflies perched atop the rim. We even have small glass votive holders in to add various heights. To top it all off, coordinate it with these vibrant butterfly themed cocktail napkins. They are a perfect fit to your living room coffee table, end cable or kitchen. So if butterflies are your thing, then stop into Memento Gift Shop. We have these plus more butterfly themed goods ready to find a good home. Paperweights, stationary, coin purses, and wall decor shadow boxes. We love butterflies and what they represent. Spread your wings and fly on into shop Memento soon…before they all fly off the shelves.

Like this:

Most people don’t have the budget–or storage space for multiple sets of dishware in different colors for every season or whim. However, with a bit of planning and a sharp eye while shopping, you can breathe new life into your existing set and create a versatile kitchen collection. At the heart of this is to start with the color palette and texture of what you currently own. If you are starting out, or replacing a set entirely, choose colors and styles that will blend with your kitchen, dining room or living room space.

For example, if you kitchen or dining room is in the olive green family, choosing cobalt blue dishware and glasses might not blend as well as say, tan, brown, sage green, or even aubergine. If you are not good with mixing colors, a great place to start is to go to your local paint supply store. Take some time to see the color families on the paper cards they provide. The paint colors are grouped in ranges of hues. Many stores also provide free mini-brochures depicting how multiple colors can be used in a home or room and how they work together. Even if you are not re-painting your home, this simple exercise is an easy (and free) method to give you ideas on colors that can be blended in a kitchen set.

Let’s say that your current kitchen dishware set is tan. Here is a great example of some accessories you can add to your current set to add more character. In this photo top left, there is a grouping of dishes, serving pieces, plates, bowls, napkins and accessories all in the similar theme. If you kitchen or dishware is tan, it would be easy to combine or introduce a new piece from this collection to add some character. When entertaining guests, you would be able to use one of these platters for cheese, veggies, sliced bread, etc. The long narrow green glass dishes are perfect for olives, stuffed mushrooms, baked stuffed medjool dates, etc. Work in some nice cocktail napkins and suddenly your plain tan dishware set looks fresh again.

Here is another tip for you: Mixing in something completely different to your set such as appetizer plates or dessert plates, can be fun and interesting. These ‘antipasti’ plates pictured at right are a series with a Mediterranean/Tuscan style theme to them. They are ideal if you are serving lots of small portions, tapas style. They key is to not be afraid to have some fun. When you see dishware and accessories while out shopping, look for multiple pieces that can work together and compliment the entire group. These size antipasti plates are enhanced when you add something else from the entire collection in the first photo above. Pick up something else from the group to bring out the colors in these plates. Whether you add the bowls, the serving platter, or the whimsical grape/pear salt and pepper shakers, you can easily add character to your kitchen.

Here at Memento Gift Shop, we try to offer fun collections of accessories to help breathe new life into your home. Now if only we had some fresh crusty bread, aged balsamic vinegar and olive oil for these plates! Mmmmm.